Contents

One Party

A study by Utah Data Points (utahdatapoints.com) showed
that, on the average bill, 93% of House and 96% of
Senators voted together. Bills sponsored by Republicans
passed 59% of the time, while bills sponsored by
Democrats passed 53% of the time. The study pointed out
this was the narrowest gap in a number of years.

If the legislature was passing bills which increased liberty
and reduced government this would be a good trend. Of
the 26 bills which GrassRoots included in its report 12
increased the intrusiveness of government; while only 5 of
our covered bills which protected Constitutional rights or
limited government passed. Four other good bills passed
one chamber but did not pass in the other chamber.

Of the good bills passed this year, one protected second
amendment rights (H.B. 67) and another will encourage
individuals to become more self-reliant (S.B.153).

On the other hand, legislators voted to expand the role of
government in health care (H.B. 437), housing (H.B. 431
and H.B. 436), cab-driving (S.B. 12, water pricing (S.B.
28) and California seaport construction (S.B. 246).

Fortunately, some intrusive ideas failed: A bill requiring
parents opting out of having their child immunized to
complete an “education module” (H.B. 221 (Sub 9), passed
the House, but not the Senate. A bill which would have
levied a 10 cent tax on all plastic bags taken from a store
(S.B. 196) actually passed out of committee, but never
came to a floor vote.

Legislators introduced 819 bills this year (which was the
second highest total in state history). Of these bills 177
were introduced in the session’s final three weeks.

Greene Tops House; Dayton Leads Senate

House Summary: Brian Greene (R-UT) received the top
score for the House in this year’s report. Rounding out the top 10% were
Marc Roberts (R-UT), Kim Coleman (R-SL), John Knotwell (R-UT), Dan McCay
(R-UT) and David Lifferth (R-UT).

Senate Summary: Margaret Dayton (R-UT) received the top
score in the Senate. Also finishing in the top 10% were Scott Jenkins
(R-WB) and Mark Madsen (R-SL).

Averages: The House received an average score of 36%
compared to its lifetime average of 47%. The Senate averaged a 53% which is
the lifetime average of the Senate.

GrassRoots has been issuing an annual legislative report
card since 1992. The Constitutions of the nation and state
are the guides which GrassRoots uses in picking issues for
its legislative report card. Bills are picked without regard
to any particular individual. GrassRoots has no paid staff.

Analysis of Bills for 2016

Bills are listed by number with house bills listed first. The
sponsor(s) of the bill is in parentheses with the primary
sponsor listed first. The tally on bills from each house is
listed by Yeas, Nays and those Absent or Not Voting. Text of
all bills can be found at http://le.utah.gov. Also, on our website, we give more
in-depth coverage of those bills marked by an asterisk than permitted in an
eight-page newsletter.

A)* H.B. 22 (B. Greene, H. Stephenson) Reforms Utah’s Civil
Asset Forfeiture code to better protect innocent property owners.
Civil forfeiture, when used to take away property from innocent
owners, is a violation of constitutional provisions directing that
“No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without
due process of law.” And “due process of law” should require
that the prosecutor prove the government’s case—not that the
property owner prove his innocence. HB22 brings Utah
forfeiture code at least a little closer to this ideal. GrassRoots
approves of a YES vote. Passed the House (56-17-2) but was
tabled in the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and
Criminal Justice Committee.

B) H.B. 41 (S. Eliason, A. Millner) Puts government in
competition with private enterprise by allowing schools to charge
parents who send their children to kindergarten for the entire day.
Starts to create another entitlement by requiring LEAs that
provide full-day kindergarten to waive or reduce the fees where
there is “an inability to pay the fee. Government should not be in
the business of competing with private enterprise, nor creating
more entitlements. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed
the House (47-27-1) but failed in the Senate (11-14-4).

C) H.B. 56 (B. Edwards, C. Bramble) Repeals the sunset date
of the Women in the Economy Commission Act. One of the
purposes of this commission is to “facilitate coordination of
public entities concerned with women in the economy” Violates
the tenet of equality under the law by requesting special rights for
women in the economy. All citizens (both women and men)
should be treated equally by government. GrassRoots approves
of a NO vote. Passed the House (69-0-6), Senate (21-5-3) and
was signed into law by the Governor.

D) H.B. 67 (N. Thurston, A Christensen) Protects the second
amendment right to bear arms by eliminating the third degree
felony prohibition of carrying a firearm on a bus with no criminal
intent. GrassRoots approves of a YES vote. Passed the House
(59-12-4) and Senate (24-2-3) and was signed into law by the
Governor.

E) H.B. 69 S1 (F. Cox, S Jenkins, J. Fawson (sponsor of
Substitute)) Repeals SB 54 passed in 2014 which violated
political parties’ self-governance, right of association and first
amendment rights. GrassRoots approves of a YES vote. Failed
in the House (30-42-3).

F) H.B. 120 (S. Eliason, C Bramble) Increases, from $350 to
$400 the administrative vehicle impound fee resulting from an
arrest for DUI. Under pre-existing statute, there is no requirement
for a conviction or guilty plea before imposition of this punitive
impound fee; neither is there provision for refunding the impound
fee if the arrested individual is found not guilty. This would
violate the Fifth Amendment. While HB 120 did not create this
due process problem, we believe it is imprudent to increase the
impound fee without correcting this problem in Utah Code.
GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed the House (71-0-4), Senate
(21-0-8) and was signed into law by the Governor.

G) H.B. 160 (C. Hall, L. Hillyard) Requires justice court judges
in first and second class counties to be law school graduates. The
most important qualifications for a judge would include sound
judgement, integrity and an ability to apply the law. Many people
without a law degree possess these characteristics. Bill also
appears to violate intent of the Utah State Constitution Article
VIII, Section 11, which states: “[N]o qualification may be
imposed which requires judges of courts not of record to be
admitted to practice law. . . .” GrassRoots approves of a NO
vote. Passed the House (52-20-3), Senate (24-4-1) and was
signed into law by the Governor.

H) H.B. 221 Sub 9 (C. Moss, B. Shiozawa) Requires parents
who choose not to immunize their children to go through an
“education module”. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote.
Passed the House (38-37-0) but did not come up for a final
vote in the Senate.

I) H.B. 228 (G. Froerer, J. Stevenson) Removes unneeded
government regulation by allowing distilleries and breweries to
offer tastings to their customers. GrassRoots approves of a
YES vote. Passed the House (47-21-7), Senate (23-2-4) and
was signed into law by the Governor.

J) H.B. 364 (B. Last, E. Vickers) Increases government
regulation by prohibiting the use of an unregistered pharmacy
benefit manager. Imposes a $250 punitive per day fine against a
person accused of providing pharmacy benefit management
services without the required registration. Such punishment
should not be imposed without due process or opportunity for
jury trial. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed the
House (55-20-0) but did not come up for a vote in the
Senate.

K) H.B. 377 (L. Christensen, L Hillyard) Helps protect the rights
of families by providing that a grandparent may petition for
visitation after a parent’s rights have been terminated, unless the
grandchild is adopted by a non-relative. GrassRoots approves
of a YES vote. Passed the House (43-22-10), Senate (18-9-2)
and was signed into law by the Governor.

L) H.B. 431 (B. Edwards, T. Weiler) Requires public transit
districts to adopt transit-oriented development policies that
include affordable housing. Transit districts should be focused on
transportation and not expand into other areas of social planning.
GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed the House (58-14-3),
Senate (15-12-2) and was signed into law by the Governor.

M) H.B. 436 (F. Gibson, T. Weiler) Creates the Homeless to
Housing Reform Restricted Account and costs the taxpayers
$9.25 million in expenditures for FY2017. While helping the
homeless is a worthy endeavor, it is not a proper role of
government. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed the
House (63-0-12), Senate (24-2-3) and was signed into law by
the Governor.

N) H.B. 437 (J. Dunnigan, A. Christensen) Expands the role of
government in the health care industry by appropriating $2.5
million to expand Medicaid in Utah. While the federal
government is going to provide the majority of the funding, bill
puts Utah taxpayers in jeopardy when the federal government
stops funding. Programs such as this are best run by private
charities. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed the
House (55-17-3), Senate (19-8-2) and was signed into law by
the Governor.

O) S.B. 12 (K. Mayne, P. Ray) Increases government regulation
by prohibiting a person from driving a private passenger carrier
unless the person has a valid taxicab endorsement or a
commercial driver license. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote.
Passed the House (57-15-3), Senate (24-1-4) and was signed
into law by the Governor.

P) S.B. 28 (S. Jenkins, L. Perry) Increases government
regulation by requiring retail water providers to establish an
increasing rate structure for culinary water. GrassRoots disagrees
with the state removing local control of retail water providers by
government mandates. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote.
Passed the House (64-9-2), Senate (26-2-1) and was signed
into law by the Governor.

Q) S.B. 45 (A. Jackson, J. Anderegg) Reduces penalties
for parents under the compulsory education act. In a perfect world
we would not have compulsory education, but this is a step in the
right direction. GrassRoots approves of a YES vote. Passed in
the Senate (22-5-2) but failed in the House (32-39-4).

R) S.B. 59 (T. Weiler, B. Edwards) Expands government by
requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations
related to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related
conditions. Further infringes an employer's right to peaceably run
his business as he chooses. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote.
Passed the House (59-15-1), Senate (23-2-4) and was signed
into law by the Governor.

S) S.B. 67 (A. Millner, B. Edwards) Appropriates $2
million for the “Partnerships for Student Success Grant Program” to
hopefully improve educational outcomes for low income
students. S.B. 67 is a hurtful step toward centralized social
planning and away from local and parental control. GrassRoots
approves of a NO vote. Passed the House (55-20-5), Senate
(20-6-3) and was signed into law by the Governor.

T) S.B. 73 (M. Madsen, G. Froerer) Increases personal freedom
by legalizing the use of medical cannabis in Utah. Individuals
who have serious health conditions have seen improvement in
their health through the use of medical cannabis which is
currently against the law in Utah. In a free society, individuals
should be able to make health decisions for themselves without
the fear of government putting them in jail. GrassRoots
approves of a YES vote. Passed the Senate (17-12-0) but
failed in House Committee.

U) S.B. 100 (L. Hillyard, J. Anderegg) Limits government by
limiting the amounts a local government can receive from traffic
fines to 25% of the government’s revenue. When more than 25%
of a local government’s revenues come from traffic fines, we
might suspect that law enforcement priorities have become
corrupted. GrassRoots approves of a YES vote. Passed the
Senate (23-4-2) but did not come up for a vote in the
House.

V) S.B. 101 (A. Millner, B. Last) Appropriates over $11 million
dollars in 2017 and again in 2018 for programs to hopefully
improve school readiness of eligible students. These programs
and associated grants are to be administered by the (distant) State
Board of Education, and/or Department of Workforce Services.
SB 101 is another hurtful step toward centralized social planning
(with its usual favoritism and inequality under the law) and away
from local and parental control GrassRoots approves of a NO
vote. Passed the House (63-10-2), Senate (22-3-4) and was
signed into law by the Governor.

W) S.B. 107 (S. Urquhart) Expands the definition of “hate
crimes.” and enhanced penalties for “hate crimes.” Violates the
principle of equality under the law by punishing an individual for
his belief rather than actions. GrassRoots approves of a NO
vote. Failed in the Senate (11-17-1)

X) S.B. 153 (L. Fillmore, S. Eliason) Requires individuals on
certain public assistance programs to complete at least two hours
of approved self-reliance training within 90 days of receiving
assistance. Where we have public assistance, one goal should be
to reduce associated dependence, both for the good of the
recipient and for the good of the taxpayer. GrassRoots approves
of a YES vote. Passed the House (45-28-2), Senate (24-3-3)
and was signed into law by the Governor.

Y) S.B. 234 (C. Bramble, K Stratton) Requires a physician
performing an abortion to administer measures to reduce pain of
the unborn child. Also requires doctors to notify patients seeking
abortions that an unborn child over 20 weeks gestational age may
experience pain. Our foremost unalienable right is the right to
life. While the preference would be for abortion to be eliminated,
this bill aims to reduce the number of abortions performed in the
state. GrassRoots approves of a YES vote. Passed the House
(57-10-8), Senate (25-3-1) and was signed into law by the
Governor.

Z) S.B. 246 (S. Adams, M. McKell) Creates and transfers $53 to
the Impacted Communities Transportation Development
Restricted Account, with the apparent purpose of funding
development of a seaport near Oakland California that will
hopefully facilitate the export of Utah coal. This is economic
planning that would be best left to the private sector rather than
be socialized. GrassRoots approves of a NO vote. Passed the
House (52-17-6), Senate (20-7-2) and was signed into law by
the Governor.

If Utah Wants to Be Sovereign, It Needs to Act Like It

By Don Guymon

During the past session, the Utah Legislature
overwhelmingly passed H.B. 437. It passed
overwhelmingly in both the House (55-17-3)
and Senate (19-8-2).

Also during this session, the Legislature
overwhelmingly passed H.B. 287 in the House
(54-12-9) and Senate (20-4-5) which creates
accounts for the state to prepare to sue the
federal government for the return of federal land
within the state.

With H.B. 437, the state of Utah decided to
accept money from the federal government to
expand Medicaid expansion in the state of Utah,
while on the other hand setting aside the money
to sue the federal government to take back its
federal land.

Ultimately Utah needs to decide if it is a
sovereign state or not.

With Medicaid expansion the federal
government is promising to pay 70% of the cost
to expand Medicaid, therefore Utah voted to put
its hand out to the federal government thus
becoming more dependent upon the federal
government. Many of our elected
representatives were upset that we didn’t decide
to take more from the federal government.

A 2014 report from the Utah auditor showed
that 25% of Utah expenditures came from the
federal government. In 1984 this percentage
was 19%; the high was 30% in 2010.

Our dependence on the federal government
should be concerning to all tax payers. Our
federal government is almost $19 trillion in
debt. What happens to our state, when the
federal government finally gets serious about
balancing its budget? The money will dry up
from the federal government and Utah will have
to foot the bill. Unlike the federal government,
our Utah Constitution requires our legislative
and executive branches to balance its budget
every year (and rightfully so). We will not be
able to kick the can down the road, so tax
increases or painful benefit cuts to entitlements
will occur.

While the money; we rely upon is troubling, it is
also troubling that we are hurting our own cause
for taking our public lands back. It is hard to
make an argument that we are a sovereign state,
when we are so reliant upon the federal
government.

Just like a parent who is able to control their
child, in part because that child is financially
dependent upon them; Utah is playing the part
of the child, wanting to be an adult while asking
Mom and Dad for $20 so he can go out with his
friends. Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Ezra Taft Benson said, “[N]o State or local
government can accept funds from the Federal
and remain independent in performing its
functions, nor can the citizens exercise their
rights of self-government under such
conditions” (speech entitled “The Proper Role
of Government)

Utah’s elected officials would do well to begin
to wean Utah from the federal government.
Becoming self-sufficient will allow Utahans, not
federal bureaucrats and out of state politicians to
make decisions which affect our great state.